Derrick McCarson has written a book on Ecclesiastes called Journal of a Mad Man. He makes one point that I have not seen before. He states: “our use of money and possessions may be the single greatest indicator of our spirituality”. He backs up this statement with the following facts about what the Bible says about money:
- Sixteen of the 38 parables of Christ deal with money
- More is said about money than prayer
- There are over 500 verses on both prayer and faith but there are over 2,000 on money and possessions. [1]
Now McCarson is not advocating a prosperity gospel. He only says how you use your money and possessions is an indicator of your spirituality. Jesus’ parable of the talents illustrates this (Matthew 25:14-18). Before he leaves on a journey, a man gave one of his servants five talents, another two, and another one (note the Bible says this distribution was made according to the servant’s ability). When the master returned, his concern was what each servant had done with the talents given them. If the servant had put his talents to good use he was praised. If he did not put his talents to good use, he was harshly criticized. The master’s concern was not the total amount of money the servant had made but how servant used whatever was given to him.
Money and possessions are like any other ability God has given us. As we have previously stated in this blog (May 8, 2011) the Bible lists the use of our abilities as one aspect of our salvation. It is therefore vital that we best utilize whatever abilities we possess.
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[1] Derrick McCarson, Journal of a Mad Man, Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2014, p. 88.
